I’m Done Waiting, Google.

by David Klemke on January 21, 2013

I’ve been using my Nokia Lumia 900 for some time now and whilst it’s a solid handset Windows Phone 7 is starting to feel pretty old hat at this point, especially with the Windows Phone 8 successor out in the Lumia 920. However I had made the decision to go back to Android due to the application ecosystem on there. Don’t get me wrong for most people Windows Phone has pretty much everything you need but for someone like me who revels in doing all sorts of esoteric things with his phone (like replicating iCloud levels of functionality, but better) Android is just the platform for me. With that in mind I had been searching for a handset that would suit me and I, like many others, found it in the Nexus 4.

Spec wise its a pretty comparable phone to everything else out there with the only glaring technical fault being the lack of a proper 4G modem. Still its big screen, highly capable processor and above all stock Android experience with updates that come direct from Google make up for that in spades. The price too is pretty amazing as I paid well over 50% more for my Galaxy S2 back in the day. So it was many months ago that I had resigned myself to wait for the eventual release of the Nexus 4 so I could make the transition back the Android platform and all the goodness that would come along with it.

Unfortunately for me the phone went on sale at some ludicrous time for us Australians so I wasn’t awake for the initial run of them and missed my chance at getting in on the first bunch. I wasn’t particularly worried though as they had a mailing list I could join for when stock would be available again and I figured that after the initial rush it wouldn’t be too hard to get my hands on one of them. However the stock they got sold out so quickly that by the time I checked my email and found they were available again they had sold out, leaving me without the opportunity to purchase one yet again. Thinking that there’s no way that Google would be out of stock for long (they never were for previous Nexus phones) I resigned myself to wait until it became available again, or at least a pre-order system came up.

Despite stories I hear of handsets being available for some times and tales of people being able to order one at various times I have not once seen a screen that differs from the one shown above. Nearly every day for the past 2 months I’ve been checking the Nexus site in the hopes that they’d become available but not once have I had the chance to purchase one. Now Google and LG have been pointing fingers in both directions as to who is to blame for this but in the end that doesn’t matter because both of them are losing more and more customers the longer these supply issues continue. It doesn’t help when they announce that AT&T will start stocking them this month which has to mean a good portion of inventory was diverted from web sales to go them instead. That doesn’t build any good will for Google in my mind especially when I’ve been wanting to give them my money for well over 2 months now.

And with that in mind I think I’m done waiting for it.

For the price the Nexus 4 looked like a great device but time hasn’t made the specifications look any better, especially considering the bevy of super powerful smartphones that debuted at CES not too long ago. I, along with many other potential Nexus 4 buyers, would have gladly snapped up one of their handsets long ago if it was available to us and the next generation wouldn’t have got much of a look in. However due to the major delays I’m now no longer considering the Nexus 4 viable when I might only be a month or two away from owning something like the ZTE Grand S which boasts better specifications all round and is probably the thinnest handset you’ll find. Sure I’ll lose the completely stock experience and direct updates from Google but after waiting for so long the damage has been done and I need to find myself a better suitor.

CATEGORIES

TAGS

Comments

5 Comments

My GF was in the same boat as you and waiting for the Nexus 4 on the Google website. I then noticed it from another online supplier (slight premium) and she bought it there. Arrived today… She just has to get a microsim before she can use it. Will let you know what she thinks. She has been using (complaining about) the Galaxy 1 for years now. If the compliants on the tram decrease then I know the phone is good 😉

Incidently I got my parents a Nexus 10 before XMAS. It was a similar story. I was checking the Google website daily seeing if it wasn’t sold out in Australia. I then took the plunge and ordered it (from this the same online supplier) so they would get it before XMAS. Arrived on time. Perfect for my parents. I think the tablet is brilliant too… very tempted to get myself one.

I had a look around, not a good one though, for a Nexus 4 from another source and couldn’t turn up one at a price I was happy with. I could’ve stomached $50 more a month or two ago but I think I’ve soured on the whole idea >_< Sounds like it’d be a solid upgrade for her though 😀 When I saw the price on the Nexus 4 and 10 I was really, really tempted just to get both as the combination was pretty close to what I’ve paid for phones outright in the past. The supply issues are a real shame as otherwise I, and I’m sure many others, would’ve taken Google up on their amazing offer. Ah well, maybe next time.

Looking forward to my Samsung GSIII 4G getting the newer Andriod now. My previous phone was the original WP7 Samsung Omnia 7 and whilst that did everything I really needed going to Andriod (forced due to screen break and luckily I was out of contract) showed me what I was missing. I thought about the WP8 but(they weren’t released yet at the time. Glad I got the Andriod.

Anyway if Google didn’t have supply issues on the Nexus 4 & 10 I think they could have won over more of the Apple dominance… the value for money is senstational.

Yeah you sound like you’re in a similar position to me although I was an Android user previously. I’ve got a couple friends with the new WP8 Nokia Lumia 920 and they seem to really like it but I think I’m an Android man at heart so I’ll be going back to them as soon as I can.